Thermostatic valve for vapor-burners.



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' TIP mvgmon ATTORNEY Patented Jan I, 190i 1 A. lmson. THERMOSTATICVALVE FDR VAPOR BURNEBS.

(Application filed Mn. 98, 1900.)

IIIIIII (No Modal.)

WITNESSES UNrinn STATES PATENT Denice;

ARTHUR KITSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE KITSONI-IYDROOARBON HEATING AND INOANDESCENT LIGHTING COM- PANY, OF SAME PLACEAND CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA.

THERMOSTATIC VALVE FOR VAPOR-BURNERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 665,115, dated January1, 1901.

Application filed March 23, 1900. $eria1 No. 9,852. (No model.)

To all whom, it floaty concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR KITSON, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain,and a resident of Philadelphia, (Germantowm) county 5 ofPhiladelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Thermostatic Valves for Vapor- Burners, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to vapor-burning apparatus in general; and morespecifically it consists of an improved form ofthermostatically-operated valve for controlling the ad mission of fluidhydrocarbons to the vaporizingchamber of such apparatus. It is desirablein structures of this kind to reduce the number of parts as much aspossible and to employ iron or steel instead of other high-pricedmaterials. If iron or steel, however, is used for thethermostatically-operated apparatus,

it is apt to be slow in its action, being protected by the surroundingwalls of the vaporizing tube or chamber from the heat of the burner, andconsequently the initial expan- 2 5 sion of the vaporizing-tube itselfproduces a premature opening of the valve. I have discovered, however,that these difficulties can be overcome by so forming the steel or ironrod which constitutes the valve-operating apparatus that for aconsiderable portion of its length it will be in intimate contact withthe walls of the vaporizing-tube, and thereby receive the necessaryamount of heat to cause it to share in the initial expansion of the en-3 5 tire apparatus and maintain the valve closed until a thoroughheating of the whole apparatus shall have prepared it for propervaporization of the admitted oil.

The preferred form of apparatus embody- 40 ing my invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which an ordinaryvaporizing-tube 1 is shown extending across the chimney 2 of thevapor-burning apparatus, a portion of said chimney being shown in dottedlines. At one end of the vaporizing-tube is a casting 3, having avalve-seat 4 formed therein and an inlet passage-way 5. At the other endof the vaporizing-tube is a casting 6, having a discharge-orifice 7 andaconnecting passage-way 8 formed therein. A rod 9, of steel or iron,being of the same material of which the vaporizing-tube l is composed,ismounted at one end in the casting 6 and has an adjustable extensionl0,forming a valve-plunger which cooperates with the valve-seat 4 in thecasting 3 at the inlet end of the vaporizing-tube. A determinate portionof the length of the rod 9 is bent, as indicated at 11, so as to be incontact with the walls of the vaporizing-tube l. Pref- 6o erably thisbent portion 11 is at the central or middle portion of thevaporizing-tube, and it is preferably so bent as to come in contact withthe lower wall of the vaporizingtube. It will therefore be seen that theoperation of the valve may be determined and varied by shortening orlengthening that portion of the rod in contact with the tube.

If desired, the valve-plunger 10 may have a squared end portion 12 atits extremity, to which a key may be applied for purposes of adjustmentafter removing the screw-threaded cap 13 on the end of the casting 3.

The fuel-supply of fluid hydrocarbon is supposed to come from the tank14: under pressure through the tube 15, controlled by the valve 16; V

The method of operation of my invention is as follows: When the lamp isstarted into operation, the valve 16 is opened, but the valve 10normally closes access to the vaporizing-tube. The vaporizing-tube isgiven an initial heating by a jet of gas or alcohol flame or othermeans, and the greatest amount of heat is usually applied to the middleportion of the vaporizing-tube. Consequently the vaporizing-tube expandslengthwise; but the portion 11 of the rod 9 being in immediate contactwith the wall of the vaporizing-tube also receives sufficient heat tocause it to expand at the same rate, and the valve-plunger 10 is helddown to the seat 4E until the vaporizingtube 1 becomes thoroughly heatedthroughout its entire length by conduction. The end portions of the rod9, being out of 5 contact with the walls of the vaporizing-tube, areprotected from the heat and fail to expand at the same rate as do thesurrounding portions of the vaporizing-tube walls. Gonsequently by thetime the vaporizing-tube has become thoroughly heated the valveseat 4has moved away slightly from the valve-plunger 10 and oil is admitted insmall quantities to the vaporizing-tube, where it is vaporized anddischarged through the orifice '7. Then the lamp is turned off byclosing the valve 16, the vaporizing-tube 1 will contract to a greaterextent than the rod 9 and the valve-plunger 10 will be forced down ontothe seat at and the valve again closed. Adjustment of the valve issecured by removing the cap 13 and turning the plunger 10 by means of akey applied to the squared end 12.

The advantages of my invention comprise its simplicity, which arisesfrom the fact that it requires but two extra parts 9 and 10, which maybe installed in the ordinary vapor-tube without serious modificationthereof, the further fact that only iron or steel is used, and its easeof adjustment by simple rotation of the. threaded connection betweenparts 9 and 10 or by bending the part 9 so as to vary the extent of thesame which shall be in contact with the tube-walls. Moreover, thethermostat-rod 9, being mounted in a cup-shaped socket in the casting 6and not in a perforation which extends through said casting or other endportion of the vaporizing-tube, there is no liability to leakage ofvapor, which might otherwise be caused by loosening of the parts throughexpansion and contraction an d the stresses to which the connections aresubjected by the operation of the thermostat.

It is evident, of course, that various changes could be made in thedetails of construction illustrated without departing from the spiritandscope of my invention, so long as the rel ative arrangement of parts orthe principle of operation disclosed is preserved. The rod 9 may be ofdil'i'erent form, so long as a portion of its surface is in intimatecontact with the Walls of the vaporizing-tube and other portions are outof contact therewith. Other means of adjusting the valve might beemployed and the end castings 3 and 6 might be made of different form;but these and similar modifications would not change the principle ofoperation and the resulting construction would still be within thelimits of my invention.

Having therefore described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto protect by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the vaporizing-tube, the valve located in one endthereof and the thermostaticvalve actuating apparatus located in theinterior of the tube and in contact with the walls of the tube at thepoint of highest temperature.

2. The combination of the vaporizing-tube, the valve located in one endthereof and the thern1ostatic-valve-actuating apparatus, consisting of arod composed of the same metal as the tube, located in the interior ofthe tube and in contact with the walls of the tube at only the point ofhighest temperature.

3. The combination of the horizontal vap orizing-tube, the valve locatedin one end thereof, and the thermostatic-val ve-operating apparatuscomprising a rod extending from one end of the tube to the other andhaving its middle portion in contact with the lower portion of the wallof the wtporizing-tube.

4. The combination of the horizontal vaporizing-tube, the valve locatedin one end thereof, and the thermostatic-valve operating apparatuscomprising a rod extending from one end of the tube to the other andhaving its middle portion bent down in contact with the lower portion ofthe Wall of the vaporizing-tube.

5. The combination of the horizontal vaporizing-tube, the valve locatedin one end thereof,and the thermostatic-valve-operating apparatuscomprising a rod extending from one end of the tube to the other andhaving its middle portion bent down in contact with the lower portion ofthe wall of the vaporizing-tube, said rod being formed of the same metalas the vaporizing-tube.

6. The combination of a vaporizing-tube, a casting provided with adischarge-orifice and communicating passage-ways connected to one end ofthe tube, a second casting provided with inlet passage-ways and avaiveseat connected to the other end of the tube, and a valve-plungermounted in a cup-shaped socket in the first casting and cooperating withthe valve-seat in the second casting.

7. The combination of a vaporizing-tube, a casting provided with adischarge-orifice and communicating passage-ways connected to one end ofthe tube, a second casting provided with inlet passage-ways and avalveseat connected to the other end of the tube, and a valve-plungermounted in a cup'shaped socket in the first casting and cooperating withthe valve-seat in the second casting, said valve-plunger having adeterminate portion of its length in contact with the walls of thevaporizing-tube.

Signed at New York, N. Y., this 17th day of March, 1900.

ARTHUR KITSON.

Witnesses: I

A. PARKER-SMITH, W. H. PUMPI-IREY.

IIO

